Maui Department of Water Supply lifts water advisory for area near Lahaina Gateway

An area near Lahaina Gateway, titled L-4B on the Maui Recovers website, now has safe drinking water, according to a Department of Water Supply announcement.

The department amended the Unsafe Water Advisory for Lahaina to remove area L-4B, which impacts 69 lots near Kapunakea Street on the mauka side of Honoapi’ilani Highway. Water serving the homes in L-4B is declared safe for unrestricted use effective today, Dec. 15, 2023. 

The department recommends customers flush their lines to remove any standing water in plumbing and pipes due to non-use and replace with fresh water. Lines may be flushed by opening valves and letting the faucets run for at least 10 minutes. 

Residents and owners should search their addresses using the interactive Water Advisory Map on Maui Recovers website (https://www.mauirecovers.org/utilities) to confirm whether their locations are under advisory.

Areas L-4A, along with L-4C through L-6A, of the fire-impacted area in Lahaina remain under the Unsafe Water Advisory until further notice. 

Customers within the advisory area should NOT drink or boil their tap water. Boiling, freezing, filtering, adding chlorine or other disinfectants or letting water stand will not make the water safe. Bottled water or potable water provided by the County of Maui must be used for drinking (including making baby formula and juice), brushing teeth, making ice and food preparation. Customers in the advisory area are also advised to limit water use for hygiene purposes such as showers. Failure to follow the advisory could result in illness. 

The Unsafe Water Advisory was issued Aug. 11, 2023 as a precautionary measure due to the unknown impacts of the August 2023 Maui wildfires on the drinking water system. In Upper Kula and in Lahaina, structures in the water system were destroyed by the fire, and some areas in the system experienced water pressure loss. These conditions may have caused harmful contaminants to enter the water system.

The Department of Water Supply has been working closely with the Hawai`i State Department of Health and the US Environmental Protection Agency to complete its Volatile Organic Compound investigation; isolate the system from fire-damaged structures to ensure minimal potential from any contamination; and conduct ongoing water quality sampling and testing at key points throughout the system. The decision to amend the Unsafe Water Advisory is based on multiple lines of evidence collected through this process.

For more information about the Unsafe Water Advisory, the Department of water Supply’s VOC investigation, as well as answers to frequently asked questions, visit mauirecovers.org/recovery/utilities.